Bloomington audiences got to see it first! IU Opera and Ballet Theater's co-production of Die Fledermaus with Cincinnati Opera continues to dazzle audiences at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Check out this shimmering review!

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is deeply saddened to announce the death of set and costume designer Robert OHearn, professor emeritus of opera studies. OHearn died on May 26 in Bloomington, Ind., at the age of 94. He was an IU Opera Studies faculty member from 1988 until his retirement, in 2008.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has received a $6.5 million planned gift from Mary H. Wennerstrom, Jacobs associate dean emerita for instruction, and Leonard M. Phillips, her late husband, for piano scholarships and the endowment of the directorship within the William and Gayle Cook Music Library, part of the IU Libraries.

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music alumni Jamie Barton and Lawrence Brownlee will join a stellar cast of some of opera's greatest voices in "From Bocelli to Barton: Richard Tucker Opera Gala" on "Live From Lincoln Center" at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, on PBS.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce that collaborative pianist Anne Epperson will join its faculty as professor of music in collaborative piano, effective August 2017, pending approval of the Trustees of Indiana University.

One of the country's most controversial issues will take center stage when IU Opera Theater debuts its production of "Dead Man Walking." Educational programming also will be presented, including a lecture by Sister Helen Prejean, author of the 1993 nonfiction book of the same name.

Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater regretfully announces that it is unable to produce Rodgers and Hammersteins The Sound of Music as planned in April 2016. Due to a concurrently scheduled national tour of the showin honor of the 50th anniversary of the legendary filmIU Opera and Ballet was not able to secure the rights to produce it at this time.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce the appointment of soprano Jane Dutton and tenor Brian Gill as associate professors of music (voice), effective fall 2015, pending approval of the Trustees of Indiana University.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music community mourns the death of faculty composer David Ward-Steinman, who had been an adjunct professor in both composition and music in general studies since 2004. He was also an active pianist, performer and improviser.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music will host a musical celebration of the life and legacy of Stephen (Steve) Zegree, Pam and Jack Burks Professor of Music and director of the IU Singing Hoosiers, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, in Bloomingtons Musical Arts Center.

During the 2014-15 season-closing productions by Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater, Gwyn Richards, dean of the IU Jacobs School of Music and general manager of IU Opera and Ballet Theater, is taking the stage at Bloomingtons Musical Arts Center to announce the programming for the companys 2015-16 season.

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music artist diploma student Deniz Uzun will compete in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals at 3 p.m. this Sunday, March 22, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has announced its 2014-15 live streaming schedule, including performances from IU Opera and Ballet Theater. The streaming project provides an opportunity for anyone with a broadband Internet connection anywhere in the world to watch high-definition video of performances taking place on the Musical Arts Center and Auer Hall stages.

As part of Indiana University's fourth annual Summer Festival of the Arts, the Jacobs School of Music will present Summer Music, a series of more than 40 free and ticketed events from June 7 through July 25. The series will include an array of world-class concerts featuring orchestra, jazz, chamber music, piano, choral, band, percussion, opera and other special events.

Two new productions, including Rodgers and Hammersteins "South Pacific," will be featured in an eclectic collection of audience favorites during the 2014-15 Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center.

Several students from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music will perform Saturday, February 22, at 6 p.m. EST, at the Terrace Theatre on the Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The performance is free, open to the public, and will be streamed live on the Web at http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium.

"The Tale of Lady Thi Kính," an opera composed by Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty member P.Q. Phan, will receive its world premiere by IU Opera Theater at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center Feb. 7. Phan is also the opera's librettist.
Widely considered to be the first opera set in the Vietnamese culture, the work is based on a folktale that captivated Phan as a child. The story itself dates back at least a millennium, appearing in many different Buddhist traditions and is frequently re-told through traditional Vietnamese theater known as Hát Chèo.

Three students from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music took home prizes from the Indiana District competition of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions that took place Oct. 12 at IU's Musical Arts Center.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music welcomes world-renowned soprano Deborah Voigt, who will give a master class at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, in the Musical Arts Center as part of the "Five Friends Master Class Series."

The opera "The Tale of Lady Thi Kinh," composed by Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty member P.Q. Phan, will make its world premiere at the music school this spring. Widely considered to be the first opera set in the Vietnamese culture, the production tells the traditional tale of Thi Kinh, a compassionate and selfless young girl who eventually attains Nirvana.

A world premiere, an additional new production, an updated production and a tribute to one of the Jacobs School of Music's most distinguished faculty members await explorers of all kinds at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center during the 2013-14 Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season.

Led by Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty member Kimberly Carballo and Mpingo Studios Director Diana Smith Nixon, five Bloomington musicians will join their counterparts in Nairobi, Kenya, this month for a three-week teaching and performance workshop at schools in the area.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce that Norwegian-born Espen Jensen is its new director of admissions and financial aid. He began his activities as director March 18, 2013.

A world premiere, an additional new production, an updated production and a tribute to one of the Jacobs School of Music's most distinguished faculty members await explorers of all kinds at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center during the 2013-14 Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season -- "9 Stops: 1 Incredible Journey."

Indiana University Opera Theater will bring its 2012-13 season to a close by celebrating the 200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi with a production of his "Falstaff" April 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center.

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music student and Jacobs Fellow Michael Brandenburg was named one of six winners at the annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals on March 10.

Marking their first-ever collaboration, Indiana University Opera Theater -- housed in the Jacobs School of Music -- will present its production of Philip Glass' "Akhnaten" as part of the Indianapolis Opera season March 8 and 9 at Clowes Memorial Hall on the Butler University campus in Indianapolis. The presentation will follow a series of IU Opera Theater performances in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 and 23 and March 1 and 2.

Indiana University Opera Theater will unveil its first production of Handel's comedic "Xerxes" at 8 p.m. Feb. 1, 2, 8 and 9 in the Musical Arts Center, bringing the production company housed in the IU Jacobs School of Music's Musical Arts Center one step closer to its mission of producing a Handel opera every four years and exemplifying its new goal of welcoming well-known artists in the opera world as a way to give students practical experience.

A new process for bringing big names from the opera and ballet worlds to Bloomington is a win for all involved, creating practical experiences for IU students while giving those professionals a chance to exercise their creativity in a university environment.

Indiana University Opera Theater will present Jules Massenet's "Cendrillon (Cinderella)" with a French flair when it opens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in the Musical Arts Center for one weekend only, ending with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 11.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has announced the establishment of the "Five Friends Master Class Series," honoring the lives of five talented Jacobs School students -- Chris Carducci, Garth Eppley, Georgina Joshi, Zachary Novak and Robert Samels -- made possible by a recent gift of $1 million from the Georgina Joshi Foundation Inc.

Indiana University Opera Theater's new production of the musical comedy operetta "The Merry Widow" by Franz Lehár opens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Musical Arts Center for one weekend only, ending with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 21.

The 2012-13 Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season opens with a vengeance with a reprise of W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni Sept. 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has announced its 2012-13 live streaming schedule, including performances from IU Opera and Ballet Theater. The streaming project provides an opportunity for anyone with a broadband Internet connection anywhere in the world to watch high-definition video of performances taking place on the Musical Arts Center and Auer Hall stages.

In a groundbreaking strategic partnership, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, home of IU Opera Theater, will join Indianapolis Opera to present two performances of Philip Glass' seminal opera "Akhnaten" on March 8 and 9, 2013, at Clowes Memorial Hall on the Butler University campus.

Paloma Friedhoff Bello is one of just 40 La Caixa Scholars studying in the U.S. this year. "I've always heard about Bloomington and the prestigious Jacobs School of Music. It's always been around in my family, and I was fortunate enough to come here," she said.

Three new productions and a collection of classics, including a reprise of Mozart's "Don Giovanni," will take the stage at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center during the 2012-13 Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season.

How do you engage audiences in an operetta based on a satirical novella written in the 1700s by a French philosopher, where the hero takes fantastic journeys and sometimes visits with dead people? That's the question guest director Candace Evans used to guide her work with "Candide," the final production in Indiana University Opera Theater's 2011-12 season. The show opens at 8 p.m. April 6 in the Musical Arts Center.

When the curtain opens Feb. 24 at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center, audiences will witness the premiere of one of the largest productions to be mounted by Indiana University Opera Theater since 1966, the previous time it presented Richard Strauss's masterpiece "Der Rosenkavalier."

One does not usually think of British humor, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and Indiana University Opera Theater in the same sentence. However, at 8 p.m. on Feb. 9 to 11 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 12, all three will align to create a unique entertainment experience in downtown Bloomington, with Benjamin Britten's popular comic opera "Albert Herring."

In celebration of the extraordinary career of C. David Higgins, chair of the Indiana University Opera Studies Department and principal designer for IU Opera Theater, the IU Jacobs School of Music announces its publication of C. David Higgins: Tribute to a Master.

Regional audiences will enjoy the grandeur of 19th-century Paris when Indiana University Opera Theater raises the curtain on its spectacular production of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center Nov. 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m.

Eddie Carbone has a problem. He likes his niece just a little too much. Thus the inner struggle begins for the tragic protagonist in Indiana University Opera Theater's second production of the season, A View from the Bridge, by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom. Based on Arthur Miller's "gripping tale" of the same name, the production takes the stage at the IU Jacobs School of Music's Musical Arts Center, Oct. 21-22 and 28-29.

Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater at the Jacobs School of Music has announced its fall 2011 live streaming schedule. The streaming project provides an opportunity for anyone with a broadband Internet connection anywhere in the world to watch high-definition video of performances taking place on the Musical Arts Center stage. All streams may be accessed through the IU Music Live! website at http://music.indiana.edu/iumusiclive.

Lessons in life, love and destiny await at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center when Indiana University Opera Theater's 2011-12 season opens next week. A brand-new, more contemporary take on W. A. Mozart's timeless comedy about relationships, Così fan tutte will debut Friday, Sept. 23, with additional performances Sept. 24, 30 and Oct. 1. The Sept. 23-24 performances will be video-streamed live at http://music.indiana.edu/iumusiclive, embellished by live blogging from IU Jacobs School of Music musicology students.

Four of the six recipients of the 2011 Indiana Governor's Arts Awards are affiliated with Indiana University. The recipients of the awards were revealed today (Aug. 25) by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Indiana Arts Commission. This year's recipients include Distinguished Professor of Harp Susann McDonald and Sylvia McNair, both faculty members of the Jacobs School of Music at IU Bloomington; Alexander Toradze, a Distinguished Professor and Martin Professor of Piano at IU South Bend; and June Edwards, vice president of the Arts Foundation Board at IU South Bend.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced today that pianist and vocal coach Kevin Murphy and soprano Heidi Grant Murphy will join its faculty as professor of practice and adjunct professor of practice, respectively, this fall. Both artists, whose careers have flourished internationally for the past two decades, are alumni of the Jacobs School.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's Summer Music series, a highlight of the IU Summer Festival of the Arts, will present two workshop performances of a new opera, The Tale of Lady Thi Kinh by Jacobs faculty composer P.Q. Phan, July 29 and 30 at 8 p.m. in Auer Hall. Both performances are free and open to the public.

Four new productions and a collection of classics, including a reprise of Puccini's La Bohème, will take the stage at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center and the Buskirk-Chumley Theater during the 2011-2012 Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season.

Concurrent with the premiere of IU Opera Theater's Vincent, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music will present a panel discussion this Saturday, April 9, at 9 a.m. in Room 301 of its Musical Arts Center. The event about the media and the arts, with representatives from local, regional and national organizations, is free and open to the public.

Indiana University will host a groundbreaking ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday, April 8, to signify the start of construction on the 85,000-square-foot Jacobs School of Music Faculty Studio Building. Presiding over the event will be the Trustees of Indiana University, IU President Michael A. McRobbie, IU Provost Karen Hanson and Jacobs School Dean Gwyn Richards.

The opera Vincent, about the painter Vincent van Gogh, will receive its world premiere on Friday, April 8, 2011, at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center as the final production of the 2010-11 Indiana University Opera Theater season. Additional performances are April 9, 15 and 16. A pre-performance presentation about the opera with composer Bernard Rands and members of the artistic team will be held each night at 7 p.m.

The immortal tale of Faust -- an aging scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for his lost youth -- comes to dynamic new life at the Musical Arts Center Feb. 25 under the stage direction of Tomer Zvulun. Faust is conducted by Jacobs Professor David Effron with new set and costume designs by Jacobs Professor C. David Higgins. This version of Faust begins in present day, 2011, with Dr. Faust watching scenes from his life on a big-screen TV, cursing the loss of his youth.

The immortal tale of Faust -- an aging scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for his lost youth -- comes to dynamic new life at the Musical Arts Center Feb. 25 under the stage direction of Tomer Zvulun. Faust is conducted by Jacobs Professor David Effron with new set and costume designs by Jacobs Professor C. David Higgins. Additional performances are Feb. 26 and March 4-5, all at 8 p.m.

The Musical Arts Center has announced that IU students are invited to purchase tickets by billing their bursar account. The service expands payment options available to students when they visit the Box Office in person.

The mood will transition from tragic beauty to lighthearted farce at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's presentation of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, two one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi open Feb. 4 at the Musical Arts Center with additional performances Feb. 5 and Feb. 11-12, all at 8 p.m. The two operas are the second and third in a trio of one-act operas known as The Triptych, which depict contrasting paths to heaven and hell. The trilogy debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918.

An Indiana University Jacobs School of Music student and a Ball State School of Music student were named winners in the Indiana District competition of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, which this year took place Oct. 30 at IU's Musical Arts Center.

Die Fledermaus (The Bat), by Indiana University Opera Theater, opens at the Musical Arts Center Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. Stage director Joachim Schamberger said audience members have loved the "wild ride" of Die Fledermaus for decades, ever since it premiered in 1874 in Vienna. "It's the most famous operetta of all time," Schamberger said. "It's hilarious, but not just a silly story. There are so many important themes interwoven, and the music is brilliantly written." This version of the popular operetta puts a modern twist on the humorous revenge story, with dialogue that references current American pop culture.

Indiana University announced last week (Oct. 14, 2010) that renowned opera singer Angela Brown, who honed her craft at the Jacobs School of Music, has selected IU's Archives of African American Music and Culture as the repository for her collected papers and an array of items related to her career. "Being from Indiana and having graduated from IU, Angela is well-known, revered, and has a legacy in this state," said IU Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Portia Maultsby, director of IU's Archives of African American Music and Culture.

Jo, Beth, Meg and Amy March will take to the stage of Indiana University's Musical Arts Center Oct. 22 for the opening of an operatic production inspired by Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel Little Women. The second opera of the Jacobs School of Music's 2010-2011 Opera Theater season, Little Women is the first opera ever written by Mark Adamo, whose version of the beloved novel debuted at the Houston Grand Opera in 1998.

Indiana University announced today (Oct. 14) that renowned opera singer Angela Brown, who honed her craft at the Jacobs School of Music, has selected IU's Archives of African American Music and Culture as the repository for her collected papers and an array of items related to her career. "Being from Indiana and having graduated from IU, Angela is well-known, revered, and has a legacy in this state," said IU Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Portia Maultsby, director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture.

Past the grand lobby of Indiana University's Musical Arts Center, beyond the velvety seats and heavy curtains that surround the famous MAC stage is the spacious, sawdust-filled backstage work room where the sets for IU Opera and Ballet Theater come into magical life. At the helm of set production is MAC Technical Director Alissia Lauer. Live at IU visited Lauer throughout the construction process of sets for Il Barbiere Di Siviglia, the first opera of the Jacobs School of Music's 2010-2011 season.

Internationally renowned opera star Angela Brown, who honed her craft at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, will perform her much-anticipated one-woman show, Opera from a Sistah's Point of View, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. at IU's Musical Arts Center.

Indiana University Opera Theater's 2010-11 season opens with Gioachino Rossini's 18th-century comedic opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), showcasing an entirely new look, with 21st-century style references and set pieces and costumes that create a classic-meets-contemporary aesthetic.

Indiana University Opera Theater's 2010-11 season opens with Gioachino Rossini's 18th-century comedic opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), showcasing an entirely new look, with 21st-century style references and set pieces and costumes that create a classic-meets-contemporary aesthetic.

A lavishly illustrated history of the first 60 years of Indiana University Opera Theater at the Jacobs School of Music has recently been released by IU Press. The nearly 500-page text -- with more than 300 photos -- is the result of a team effort by writer Marianne Williams Tobias and editors George Calder, Nancy J. Guyer, C. David Higgins and Charles H. Webb.

Angela Brown's "Opera From a Sistah's Point of View" one-woman show, originally scheduled for July 30 as part of the 2010 Indiana University Summer Music Festival, has been rescheduled to Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010 at 8 p.m. The concert will take place at the Musical Arts Center.

Ljubomir Puskaric, an alumnus of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, received the gold medal in the Ondina Otta Opera Competition June 12 in the National Theater of Slovenia. The award includes a prize of 4,000 Euros and a performance with the Slovenian National Opera.

Internationally known opera star Angela Brown, who honed her craft at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, is on a mission: the down-to-earth soprano with the voice of an angel seeks to bring opera to the masses. Brown will return to Bloomington for a July 30, 8 p.m. performance of her witty solo show, Opera from a Sistah's Point of View, at the Musical Arts Center. Cliff Jackson will accompany her on piano.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Department of Opera Studies announces the presentation of two short operas stage directed, conducted, and produced by students. Marvra, by Igor Stravinsky, will be stage directed by Leslie Delk and conducted by Jamie Reeves. The Bear, by William Walton, will be stage directed by Kyung-Ook Kim and conducted by Stefano Sarzani.

Two world premieres, a number of new productions and some classic favorites will be on exhibit at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center during Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater's 2010-2011 season, including the world premiere of Vincent, based on the life of painter Vincent Van Gogh.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has commissioned a new opera based on the life of Dutch impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands and one of the most sought-after librettists, J. D. McClatchy, Vincent will be given its world premiere next spring in Bloomington in honor of the Jacobs School's 100th anniversary as a department.

Indiana University Opera Theater will close its 2009-10 season with Leonard Bernstein's timeless West Side Story April 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center. The production celebrates the 2009 announcement of an unprecedented gift from the family of Bernstein that contains the contents of his Fairfield, Conn., composing studio.

Indiana University Opera Theater will close its 2009-10 season with Leonard Bernstein's timeless West Side Story April 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center. The production celebrates the 2009 announcement of an unprecedented gift from the family of Bernstein that contains the contents of his Fairfield, Conn., composing studio.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Department of Recording Arts and IU Opera Theater will live-stream a children's concert based on West Side Story from the Musical Arts Center stage to the Indianapolis Public School District Eleanor Skillen School #34 on the morning of April 7. The project was designed by Recording Arts Chair Konrad Strauss as a pilot for a more extensive series of streamed events to public schools.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music will present more than 70 events during IU's 26th Annual ArtsWeek, adding to the annual winter festival that showcases the wide range of artistic expression on the IU Bloomington campus and in the Bloomington community.

A young Parisian is lavishly maintained as a mistress of a rich older banker. Modern, yet vulnerable, she harbors fantasies of romantic love and falls for the son of a respectable family from southern France. Will love triumph over financial power? Set in 19th-century France, Giacomo Puccini's opera La Rondine opens the way to a powerful exploration of one of high society's stories. Written with Italian playwright Giuseppe Adami and premiered in 1917, Indiana University Opera Theater's forthcoming new production opens on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m., with additional performances on Feb. 27 and March 5, 6 at the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington.

As its first production of the spring semester, Indiana University Opera Theater will present Gaetano Donizetti's gripping, tragic opera Lucia di Lammermoor Feb. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. at the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington.

As its first production of the spring semester, Indiana University Opera Theater will present Gaetano Donizetti's gripping, tragic opera Lucia di Lammermoor Feb. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. at the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington.

The Bloomington Area Arts Council (BAAC) and the Jacobs School of Music announce "Opera Tease," a collaborative, two-day educational program for middle school and high school students, with a focus on musical and production aspects of opera. Opera Tease is the brainchild of BAAC employee Bernie Oakley. A former opera singer who debuted at the Detroit Opera Theatre and performed a European tour of Porgy and Bess, her motivation behind the program was to involve young high school students and others in opera.

An expansive new production of W. A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, a co-production of Indiana University Opera Theater and The Atlanta Opera, will be premiered Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. at the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington. Additional performances in Bloomington are Nov. 14, 20 and 21. This completely new production, guest stage directed by Tomer Zvulun and guest conducted by Mark Gibson, with sets and costumes designed by Jacobs School of Music Professor C. David Higgins, is "not your average Magic Flute," said Higgins.

Indiana University Opera Theater will video-stream its second production of the season, Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod, live from the Musical Arts Center on Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31 at 8 p.m. The stream may be accessed from IU Music Live! at http://www.music.indiana.edu/iumusiclive.

Indiana University Opera Theater continues its 2009-10 season with the passionate, timeless Roméo et Juliette, opening Oct. 23 at the Musical Arts Center. The company has produced this work only twice before, in 1966 and in 2005.

IU Opera and Ballet Theater launches its full 2009-2010 season of six operas and three ballet productions with Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri, which opens on Sept. 25. The diverse season includes new productions of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and Puccini's La Rondine (The Swallow), Bernstein's dynamic West Side Story, a tribute to the 100th anniversary of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes and more.

The Indiana University Opera Theater's collegiate premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza (by Adam Guettel) will be guest conducted by Broadway veteran Dan Riddle, the associate conductor of the original hit Broadway show. Tickets are on sale now at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center for the July 31 and Aug. 1, 7 and 8 performances.

The Indiana University Opera Theater's collegiate premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza (by Adam Guettel) will be guest conducted by Broadway veteran Dan Riddle, the associate conductor of the original hit Broadway show. Tickets are on sale now at Bloomington's Musical Arts Center for the July 31 and Aug. 1, 7 and 8 performances.

Comedy, tragedy, magic, madness, jealousy, deceit and fantasy all will take center stage at IU Bloomington's Musical Arts Center during Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater's 2009-2010 season. Among the highlights will be Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, in celebration of the recent unprecedented gift from the family of Leonard Bernstein that contains the contents of his Fairfield, Conn., composing studio, and the history of Bernstein's long association with the Jacobs School.

In a perfect complement to ArtsWeek 2009's "Politics and the Arts" theme, the political power struggles of ancient Egypt -- and the passionate love affair between the iconic figures Cleopatra and Cesare -- will come to life on the stage of Indiana University's Musical Arts Center when the Jacobs School of Music stages Giulio Cesare, one of George Frideric Handel's most popular operas.

In a perfect complement to ArtsWeek 2009's "Politics and the Arts" theme, the political power struggles of ancient Egypt -- and the passionate love affair between the iconic figures Cleopatra and Cesare -- will come to life on the stage of Indiana University's Musical Arts Center when the Jacobs School of Music stages Giulio Cesare, one of George Frideric Handel's most popular operas.

IU Opera Theater presents a new production of Jules Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella), based on the original fairy tale, on Feb. 6, 7, 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center. The production includes new set and costume designs by IU's C. David Higgins.

IU Opera Theater presents a new production of Jules Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella), based on the original fairy tale, on Feb. 6, 7, 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. in Bloomington's Musical Arts Center. The production includes new set and costume designs by IU's C. David Higgins.

Indiana University Opera Theater will close the first half of its 60th anniversary season with Sergei Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges at the Musical Arts Center. Oranges opened Nov. 14-15; two shows remain, on Nov. 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. at the MAC. A witty new translation by returning guest stage director Nicholas Muni -- commissioned by IU for this production -- the opera will be sung in English with English supertitles.

Indiana University Opera Theater will close the first half of its 60th anniversary season with Sergei Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges on Nov. 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center. In this fantastical farce, set in a mythical kingdom long ago, sorceress Fata Morgana puts a curse on a prince, by which he must find and fall in love with three oranges. Absurdist comedy at its best, this lively, entertaining piece is appropriate for all ages.

Indiana University's Opera Theater kicks off its fall season, the first production in the 60th anniversary season and the 400th overall production, with Giuseppe Verdi's widely loved -- and once scandalous -- cross-class romance La Traviata. The opera is staged by noted director Tito Capobianco, a well-known, colorful figure who spent years working with Luciano Pavarotti and was general manager and artistic director of the prestigious Pittsburgh Opera.

Indiana University's Opera Theater kicks off its fall season, the first production in the 60th anniversary season and the 400th overall production, with Giuseppe Verdi's widely loved -- and once scandalous -- cross-class romance La Traviata. The opera is staged by noted director Tito Capobianco, a well-known, colorful figure who spent years working with Luciano Pavarotti and was general manager and artistic director of the prestigious Pittsburgh Opera.

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music continues to nurture and present the world's greatest musicians. With four new IU Opera and Ballet Theater productions, in addition to the usual hundreds of other performances, the Jacobs School offers another ambitious season in 2008-09. Two internationally distinguished Jacobs faculty talents join forces to kick off the orchestral season on Sept. 17 as Leonard Slatkin conducts the IU Philharmonic Orchestra and violinist Joshua Bell at 8 p.m. in the IU Auditorium.

Vincent Liotta is well-known in the opera world for co-founding the renowned Utah Festival Opera and for his stage direction with companies ranging from the Chicago Lyric Opera to the Vienna Staatspoer. This summer, though, Liotta is most thrilled not about a classic opera, but about an uplifting musical comedy, She Loves Me, presented by IU Opera Theater as part of the 2008 Indiana University Summer Music Festival.

Sixty years ago, the first Indiana University Opera Theater production took place in an auditorium that was built as part of an army barracks during World War II. This weekend (April 4-5), IU Opera begins celebrating its 60th anniversary with a reprise of that same opera, Les Contes d'Hoffmann -- except now it will be performed on a stage that rivals New York City's Metropolitan Opera House.

Fantastical tales of love lost and inspiration found will delight Indiana University Opera Theater audiences April 4, 5, 11 and 12 at the Musical Arts Center. Jacques Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann depicts a writer's romantic adventures as he searches for his true love and ultimately finds fulfillment in his artistic calling.

The IU Ballet Department's origins as a means of supplying operas with dancers inspired Michael Vernon, chair of the IU Jacobs School's Ballet Department, to offer ballet audiences "A Night at the Opera (at the Ballet)." On March 21 and 22, dancers will perform to ballet music from beloved operas by Gounod, Rossini, Handel and Meyerbeer.

Familiar favorites combine with forays into fantasy in the 60th Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater season. The 2008-2009 lineup includes beloved standards like Verdi's La Traviata, Giulio Cesare by Handel and The Nutcracker ballet, in addition to fairy-tale fun in Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges and Massenet's Le Cendrillon, the Cinderella story interpreted in the French operatic style.

Soprano and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music graduate student Carolina Castells has made it through to the Grand Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the elite competition to identify the best young opera singers throughout the nation.

When the curtain rises on this weekend's performance of A Wedding, the third of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom's operas to have its collegiate premiere at Indiana University, it will reveal the final creations of illustrious set designer Robert O'Hearn, who retires following the opera's run, at the age of 86.

"You are all permitted and encouraged to laugh!" This is the declaration of Pulitzer-prize winning composer William Bolcom, who warns audiences attending his latest opera, A Wedding, not to take it too seriously. The opera, which opens Feb. 1 at Indiana University's Musical Arts Center, portrays an all-American train wreck of a wedding in which everything that can go wrong, does.

Audiences will experience Giacomo Puccini's classic La Bohème like never before when they attend the Indiana University Opera Theater's all new production, which opens Nov. 9 in the Musical Arts Center on the IU Bloomington campus. A cutting-edge set by IU Jacobs School of Music master designer C. David Higgins recreates the streets of 19th-century Paris on three towering, intricately detailed, rotating stages, offering audiences an awe-inspiring visual experience equaled only by the beauty of the opera itself.

The IU Jacobs School's Latin American Music Center (LAMC), in cooperation with the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble and the Chamber Orchestra, will present the collegiate premiere performance, in concert, of the chamber opera Ainadamar or Fountain of Tears, by Argentinean composer Osvaldo Golijov. The performances are free and open to the public.

When IU Opera Theater kicks off its 2007-2008 on Sept. 21, with Giuseppe Verdi's ever-popular Rigoletto, few opera-goers sitting in the Musical Arts Center may realize that the opera's lavish set was built 33 years ago and is part of the oeuvre of legendary set designer Max Röthlisberger. Swiss-born Röthlisberger had acted, directed and designed sets in Europe's leading opera houses for more than 40 years and was in his 60s when he was recruited to IU by former School of Music Dean Wilfred Bain in 1973. Rigoletto's set was first used in 1974 and is being used for the last time for this season's production, which runs at 8 p.m. Sept. 21, 22, 28 and 29 in the MAC. Pre-show "Opera Insights" begins at 7 p.m. in the MAC Mezzanine before each performance.

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music master's student Jamie Barton was named a grand prize winner at the annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions on Sunday (April 1), making her the eighth winner from the IU Jacobs School of Music in the past 10 years.

Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater, which has staged a number of world premiere performances in recent years, will add to its list of firsts during its 2007-2008 season, announced today (March 5). The upcoming season at the IU Jacobs School of Music features the nation's first collegiate performance of the opera A Wedding by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom, who has commissioned IU Opera Theater for two previous collegiate premieres.

Soprano Betsy Uschkrat has been named Miss Indiana! Last February, she was crowned Miss IU, automatically qualifying her for the June 24 Miss Indiana competition. The Miss Indiana judges could not resist the aria she performed from La Boheme, winning the talent competition that night. With her Indiana win, she will compete for the Miss America crown in January. Uschkrat is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.

IU Opera and Ballet Theater formally announced its 2006-07 season today (April 8), giving regional music and dance patrons an opportunity to choose from a broad offering of blockbuster favorites, as well as a few works that stray from the well-trodden path. With seven operas and three ballets this season, IU Opera and Ballet Theater continues to lead the nation in the number of collegiate productions it produces.

In its 30-year history, the New York Baroque Dance Company has been embraced by music and dance lovers worldwide and credited with the revival of 18th-century ballet. Its members have taken steps, literally, to ensure that future generations experience this influential style of dance. As part of that effort to reach out to future generations, Turocy and her troupe are now partnering with music and dance students at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. They are engaged in a two-week residency at the school, which will culminate with a performance with the IU Baroque Orchestra under the direction of IU violin professor Stanley Ritchie on April 2 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington.

Baroque dance, opera, ballet. In Bloomington, most people would associate these things with the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and they would be correct. However, this time there's a twist. Expanding its ongoing partnership with the community, the Jacobs School of Music is proud to present three world-class events at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington in April 2006. All events are free and open to the public!

American composer Ned Rorem has accomplished what many of his predecessors could only dream of: the transformation of the classic play Our Town into an opera. On Feb. 24 -- almost 68 years to the day that Thornton Wilder's quintessential American drama debuted in Princeton, N.J. -- what legendary composer Aaron Copland and others once imagined will finally become a reality. On that day, Indiana University Opera Theater will present the world premiere of Rorem's Our Town, with libretto by renowned American poet and writer J.D. McClatchy.

Jordan Bisch, a 23-year-old student of Distinguished Professor Timothy Noble at the IU School of Music, was one of four grand prize winners in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions on Sunday (March 20). Bisch will receive $15,000. He is the School of Music's 33rd grand winner and fifth grand winner in the last five years.

The Indiana University School of Music joins the world in mourning the death of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller and will dedicate the final two performances of the opera A View from the Bridge to his memory this weekend. Miller died last night at his home in Roxbury, Conn., of congestive heart failure. He was 89.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom will return to the Indiana University Opera Theater in February for the first collegiate production of A View from the Bridge, his full-scale opera adapted from the Arthur Miller tragedy. It's the second time Bolcom has awarded IU Opera the distinction of being the first collegiate program to produce one of his works. In 1996, IU Opera delivered a critically acclaimed performance of the composer's McTeague.

The following tip sheet provides information about music news and events happening at the Indiana University School of Music. This month we feature the release of a new memoir by Indiana University Distinguished Professor of Music Janos Starker, a visit by the great-grandson of German composer Richard Wagner, and appearances by the IU School of Music's finest performers at the Metropolitan Opera and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Colin Graham has directed a record 55 world premieres, including the premieres of the last eight operas written by the illustrious composer Benjamin Britten. So when he guest directs the IU Opera Theater production of Britten's Peter Grimes, one might expect he'd be in for smooth sailing. However, the 72-year-old Graham knows he is entering uncharted waters.